Though I wouldn't trade his The Fantastic Mr. Fox for anything, it's been far too long since Wes Anderson made a live-action film, which makes his new effort Moonrise Kingdom even more hotly anticipated than it might be otherwise. Starring a lot of his regular cohort, including Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, it also adds the likes of Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Frances McDormand to the list, giving us a chance to see even more talent adapt to the cock-eyed world that Anderson creates in his films. And from the looks of the first trailer, which debuted today at Apple, there's plenty for us to look forward to from all of them. Watch it there in HD or embedded below to see exactly what I mean.
From the golden colors to the dead-center framing in the camera to the slightly anachronistic clothing, everything about this feels purely Wes Anderson-- and man, does it feel good to have him back. There's definitely an element of magical realism going on up here, with a house perched precariously high in a tree, something called Khaki Scouts dispatched to hunt down one of their own who went missing, and the entire fantastical notion of two kids who run away together and apparently get to just hang out on a gorgeous beach the whole time. If you saw this trailer from just about anybody else you might wonder if they could pull it off, but Wes Anderson has done a lot to earn our trust over the years, especially with the cheerful and wonderfully ambitious Mr. Fox. This movie looks more like a live-action version of that film than anything else Anderson has made in the past, but if it nails a sweet tone with genuine comedy the way that film did, we can be 100% fine with that.
Moonrise Kingdom is set for release on May 25, which is amazingly soon given the usual autumn releases you expect from high-profile directors like Anderson. Think of it this way: it opes opposite Men In Black III, and a weekend after Battleship. Don't you know which one of those choices you really want to see?
